Sunday Toughie 115 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 115

by proXimal

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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I tried to do this last night on the “new” site but it failed to update for ages, I had to carry on on the old site and had a full grid before the new site moved to Sunday. They must change that before killing off the old site as I can’t wait until 01:15 to start solving. I will also miss the old site’s facility of allowing you to check if you are correct a few times and the bonus 5 letters have also been useful in the past, but I guess I will have to forgo the “lagnappe” that Robert and I used. I think this will probably reduce the number of correct submissions and therefore Stephen C is more likely to secure that mythical pen! I am sure you will bear with me and correct any mis-parsings that I make in future. That is something else we will miss from the old site – the lists of Toughie setters and Sunday Toughie setters. I hope that something similar appears on the new site soon.

We have many of the proXimal signature clues, A Spoonerism to start and extractions aplenty but the X’less or 4X features of proXimal’s puzzles seem to be reserved for elsewhere. 

Today we have evenly balanced 14a and 14d clues and I have hinted half. I hope you find the checkers to finish but remain available for an extra nudge if there are any tricky clues left on the cutting room floor

 

Here we go, Folks…

As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!

I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of Useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.

      

                Across

1a          They criticise Spooner’s bedtime pants, perhaps (3-7)
proXimal is in the habit of starting things off with a Spoonerism and this was a “stinker” An informal term for a bed and a homophone of underpants usually worn by women, have their initial sounds reversed for petty criticism of minor details. If the Reverend Doctor (or proXimal) wants to wear women’s underwear to bed who am I to criticise

9a          Couple eating starter of oysters that’s foul stinker (7)
To couple together “eating” the starter of Oysters and an expression of disgust at something foul. This is proXimal’s 39^th of 115 such Sunday Stinkers

12a       Description of Royal Mail worker following procedure (4-9)
A double-definition of one who works with mail and someone who has undergone a surgical procedure

14a       Fault-finders easily rejecting duff facilities (8)
These facilities can be found in an anagram of what remains of Fault-finders after duff has been rejected

19a       Islander I see captured by Italian artist (8)
An interjection for I see in an Italian artist (known for painting many red-haired characters) define an islander from the South Pacific

21a       Lines of verse where Parisian enters mixture of trope and cliche (6,7)
How a Parisian writes where and an anagram (mixture) of trope and cliché give us a pair of rhyming lines of verse. Here is Alexander Pope on Coffee;

     For lo! the Board with Cups and Spoons is crown’d,
     The Berries crackle, and the Mill turns round.
     On shining Altars of Japan they raise
     The silver Lamp; the fiery Spirits blaze.
     From silver Spouts the grateful Liquors glide,
     And China’s Earth receives the smoaking Tyde.

Excuse me while I make another brew…

27a       Analyst on origins of stars embodying Sagittarius (10)
One of our usual on’s  the origins of the following two words and the “activity” that Sagittarius is embodying

                Down

2d          Former national leader regularly deleted texts — blast! (7)
The topical and excellent surface of a former leader currently facing charges is that he deleted some important text messages to conceal his guilt. His surname and regular letters of texts define this heavenly blast!

4d          Fall that’s scary upset other half (4,4)
A scary interjection when seeing a mouse perhaps is reversed (upset) and an “other half” with whom you are romantically linked

8d          Marches dull guards arrange (10)
The Marches are an imprecisely defined area between England and Wales, from a synonym of dull that guards a particular arrangement
– The opening track (rather than the title track) of this album may help

11d       Sped with pen in further test after turning calmer (13)
A synonym of sped and an old-fashioned pen go into a reversal (after turning) of a subsequent or further test

13d       Indifferent about pub, male I’m unsure is irreverent type (10)
The map abbreviation of a pub in a synonym of indifferent, followed by m for male and an interjection when uncertain

16d       Thoroughly wet part of weekend, cancelling day at race in the end (8)
At from the clue and a final letter follow one of the periods of 24 hours that make up the weekend but don’t forget to cancel day

20d       Eccentric this knowledgeable and assertive might be overenthusiastic (2,5)
Another proXimal signature – the extraction. Remove assertive from overenthusiastic and what remains is the fodder for an anagram (eccentric) of a synonym of this knowledgeable

 

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